There exist business practices for sale of downloadable audio files, games, and other software. The Apple® App Store as a part of iTunes® is the best example of such a system. However, as these systems grow in number of applications, both customers and authors share in frustration of identifying the “good” apps. Prices are driven toward $0, as low pricing is necessary to achieve volume, and the market has become a loss leader for larger game studios to promote their titles on other platforms where they can control pricing or for independent developers who accept recognition in place of revenue.
These systems often cater to developed and well-known content providers. However, largely unknown or small content providers, such as unbranded content providers, as new entrants, face a nearly insurmountable problem having their submissions discovered by prospective customers. This shortcoming of conventional systems is largely due to the fact that a substantial portion of content is provided or marketed to prospective users is based on brand, history, or fame of the content provider. The classic solution to help prospective customers review a large number of options is to group by genre. However, this solution is also insufficient when there are thousands-to-millions of titles. While users may retrieve content that is slightly more related to his or her desires, sorting by genres provides only vague sorting. These conventional systems do not allow prospective customers to search for the particular content that would be of most interest.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.